


spring cleaning

by aquaticflames



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Panic Attacks, Recovered Memories, Wild (Linked Universe)-centric, please remind me not to forget that tag next time before I go crazy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:47:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28710699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aquaticflames/pseuds/aquaticflames
Summary: It's hard for the others not to notice when Wild positivelyswampsthem in his inventory after realising his slate is in dire need of a re-organise - feverishly frantic.
Relationships: Time & Wild (Linked Universe), Twilight & Wild (Linked Universe), Warriors & Wild (Linked Universe)
Comments: 33
Kudos: 446





	spring cleaning

**Author's Note:**

> had a crack at writing something for LU after this idea grabbed me and wouldn't let go; thank you everyone who encouraged me!  
> tried not to give too much away with the tags, but do heed them! alotta anxiety in this one - hurt/comfort is my jam.

Wild often found himself on the fringes during their group’s occasional skirmish. That wasn’t to say that he wouldn't throw himself into the thick of it if need be - much to the chagrin of everyone else - but compared to the incredible competence every member had with a sword, their group was fairly lacking in skilled marksmen. He and Twilight therefore found themselves skirting the battles - sniping the odd bokoblin that tried to sneak around behind any unsuspecting heroes, or aiming powerful ranged strikes into the flank of a lynel or two; Bomb arrows to a talus' crown, paralysing shock arrows to a wallmaster, you name it. The pair were highly adaptable, and proud of their part in keeping the team safe. 

And because of this, Wild realised he _really_ ought to have been keeping his slate tidier than this. 

"Wild," Twilight's voice, clearer than the others' from right beside him in their tree, grabbed his attention immediately. Wild realised the boy was stuffing the Hawkeye mask back into his satchel, bow slung over his shoulder in exchange for a sword. "Watch Hyrule's six, I'm gonna help Legend with that moblin." 

The champion nodded as his friend dropped to the forest floor, quickly shifting his aim to focus on the bokoblin trying to run their healer through from behind. An arrow right between the eyes stopped it dead with a screech, and Hyrule simply ploughed on through the fight without sparing it a glance, confident in Wild’s aim. 

Readying another arrow, he felt the bow’s tension grow uneven and strained in his hands right away; He could tell it was moments from snapping, useful lifespan spent. Gritting his teeth in frustration and desperate to make it’s final shot count, he let the arrow fly far across the clearing. Wind & Sky's moblin crumpled just as the lizal bow cracked between his fingers, and Wild was sent careening into the tree trunk behind him, the sudden release of tension ricocheting up his arm painfully. Cursing, he tossed the broken pieces and reached for his slate. 

A pained shout from the battle below had him looking up in alarm, inventory forgotten as quickly as he’d opened it. Warriors, stumbling back from a rather fierce-looking trio of fire lizalfos, held nothing but the hilt of a broken sword in one hand and a darkening wound against his shoulder in the other. 

Wild swiped to his sword storage and hastened to find a decent blade for the captain. Panicked, he glowered at the pages of bokoblin arms and tree branches that littered the inventory as he searched, finally settling on a sturdy broadsword and summoning it to toss toward his grateful teammate. "Wars!" 

"You're a lifesaver, Wild!" Warriors called, as he too discarded his broken weapon just in time to catch the royal broadsword by the hilt and bring it down hard into the skull of one of his stalkers. 

Wild let out a low, shaky breath, letting his eyes fall back to the steady light emanating from his slate. His heart thrummed painfully when he saw that numerous slots held goddessdamned _branches_ and skeletal limbs. He couldn’t _believe_ that having them stashed away, taking up space, had almost cost them his friend’s life. With a pang, he realised he was falling back on old hoarding habits from early on, ones he’d gradually abandoned as the stakes of his adventure crested.

Distracted, it was almost too late when Wild finally clocked onto the snuffling and growling coming from directly below him. He snapped his focus back to the present - just as Time yelled a warning his way - and the white bokoblin at the foot of his tree made an impressive leap with a rusty traveller's sword.

Frantically selecting the first weapon available in his inventory, Wild toppled to one side in an effort to avoid the strike and clung onto his branch for dear life with his left hand, lashing out at the Bokoblin's flank with the weapon his right. 

_Crack!_

The tree branch he'd pulled from his slate snapped clean in two, almost _mocking_ him with how pathetic it was. 

Speechless and furious, Wild tumbled to the ground with the bokoblin and immediately scrambled away from it, cursing his luck. His moment of misfortune had cost him though; Before he was able to recover, Wild felt a searing pain tear down his shin as the predator flailed its shortsword with terrifying determination.

Breathing hard, he aimed a shaky kick to it's sternum trying to put as much distance between them as possible, when the white bokoblin let out an unholy screech and fell forwards, still. Wild watched from the clearing floor as Time pulled the Biggoron sword free and kicked the creature to one side. 

Wild almost completely missed the hand being offered to help him up and it's owner's soft, concerned inquiry. He accepted the hand up on shaking legs, trying to ignore the sting in his left shin as he sucked in another deep breath. 

"-ild, talk to me. Are you okay?" Predictably, Time saw right through his frantic nodding, quietly waving over Hyrule with a healing hand as the others regrouped not far away. Wild’s mind was miles away though, the view of his defenceless friend and a leaping bokoblin playing on repeat before his eyes. 

“-ust another few hours, I think. We won’t be walking for long.” Time seemed to be talking to someone else; Wild was barely present enough to notice the firm hand on his shoulder give him a grounding pat. “We’re all pretty tired.”

o~O~o

"What're you doing, Wild?"

Eight curious heroes watched as their newest (oldest?) member, like a man possessed, steadily surrounded himself with items from his inventory on one side of camp. Immediately after Time had given the all-clear to settle down for the evening, he'd plonked himself a little ways from the fire and tapped through his slate, initially going unnoticed as everyone else set up their bedrolls and prepared to head out fishing for their evening meal. 

Now though, the frantic aura around him was impossible to ignore. He'd surrounded himself with a veritable _mountain_ of items.

"Spring cleaning." 

And they teased _Legend_ for hoarding. The veteran scoffed. 

"But it's… autumn?" Sky pointed out nervously, exchanging a worried glance with Four as the boy continued adding to the pile of _bones_ steadily growing beside him. They were met with a tense silence, Wild's shoulders raised defensively, his face carefully turned away from them. 

To the group’s general surprise, Time clamboured to his feet from where he'd been sat unbuckling his armour and tiptoed his way through the throng of Wild's belongings, carefully setting himself down beside the young man. Cross legged, he reached out for a stray tree branch that had rolled away from the rest of it's kind in a pile, and purposefully set it back down with the rest. 

"This'll be part of the discard pile I imagine, then?" He said, voice somewhere between soft and deliberately light. He settled his hands back into his lap, getting comfortable next to Wild and bumping shoulders with the boy. Wild looked up, caution etched into his face as he firmly nodded. Because of _course_ Time had noticed what was bothering him. 

"Right then," Time smiled as he angled himself towards an unsorted pile of weaponry heaped upon the grass. "You just tell me what you want to keep, and I'll set everything else aside, hmm? Legend, pass me that moblin arm."

Gradually, the eight of them settled down around Wild's pile, some helping him stack things into neatly organised bundles, all categorised and clearly laid out. Others simply stayed close by, keeping the group company as they cleaned their equipment or napped not far away. The rare impressed exclamation broke through the comfortable chatter. 

"Sweet Hylia, Wild-” Wind's eyes shined as he held up a brassy shield for everyone to admire. “-This must be the fifth Lynel shield I've seen so far! How did you _get_ all of these?" He peeked over the top of it from where he sat cross legged. Wild's lopsided grin met him from deep within a hoard of mushrooms he and Twilight had managed to trap themselves in.

"By clearing out Lynels, of course." Wild grinned to himself, pretending not to notice the way Twilight made a pained noise at the casual admission.

Sky chuckled nervously, turning to stare disbelievingly at Hyrule, who looked pale. "He talks about them as though they're _rodents,_ 'Rule. _Common pests._ " 

"I mean... they kind of _are_ where I come from, the one near Shatterback point is a _real_ pain in the- Ouch." Twilight received a pointy elbow to the ribs for cuffing the boy over the head at his comment. 

"I still can't believe his slate is able to _hold_ all of this stuff." Four said appreciatively, handing Warriors a traveller's bow for the discard pile as instructed. "What else can it store? I’ve seen some impressive swords but that can’t be it."

"It sorts by category," Wild elaborated, putting away the stacks of mushrooms around them one by one, much to Twilight's relief who groaned and leant back to stretch his legs in the now-available space. "These all go into Materials, and the weapons have their own slots - which reminds me, I owe a visit to Hestu, I need more shield storage - and any food I cook has a separate section altogether, thank Hylia."

The eight of them listened to him explain the system, collectively happy to help if it meant their resident Champion would continue easing up - the tension receding from his frame as it had done over the course of the evening, the slowly-setting sun at his back. 

"-And thankfully the clothing storage doesn't eat into the other categories, I don't think I could stomach parting with any of that." 

"Oh goddess, the infamous walk-in wardrobe!"

"I'll never get over that _fish_ mask you wore during the Faron thunderstorm!"

"Or the Lizalfos mask he pulled out to infiltrate that beachside camp. They just let him walk right through and steal all their food!"

"I bet we haven't seen _half_ of the outfits you own," Warriors said good-naturedly, leaning against the pile of wood fire logs Wild hadn't yet put away. The others seemed to agree. 

"I'd love to see what else you have in there," Four grinned, setting down a monsterous-looking horse bridle and saddle. "-If you're willing of course."

"...Sure," Wild replied meekly, badly failing to conceal the pleased flush creeping down his ears at the interest everyone was showing to such a sentimental part of his adventure - all the clothing he’d managed to collect.

After hastily re-storing some of what hadn't been condemned to the discard pile - which was now frighteningly taller than _Time_ \- Wild rolled out a large blanket and began selecting outfits to show the group, carefully laying them down in sets. Legend immediately displayed a keen interest in his Gerudo jewellery, and Wild took great joy from explaining the varying enhancements each one had. 

"Damn kid, these are _really_ well made," Legend admitted - a rare compliment - taking off the ruby circlet and carefully appraising a gorgeous set of opal earrings as the warm flush receded from his cheeks. "You'd better take me to your jewelers when we're next in your era."

"Sure, if you want to brave getting into Gerudo Town."

Time, now reclined near the fire, scrutinised the champion carefully, sizing him up. "You never _did_ say how you managed that in your time, huh?" 

Wild only grinned back. "Nope," He replied, carefully cheerful in his tone. "We'll make a challenge out of it! The one who gets the closest to properly entering can pick out some jewellery that I'll gift them."

Most of the group missed the way Time’s scrutiny morphed into a disbelieving chuckle. There was only one way to read Wild's brash confidence; no matter how hard they tried, none of them would be getting in _fully_ , and Time wasn't foolish enough to rise to _that_ bait. He’ll just sit back and enjoy watching the hysterics beside Wild. 

As the others began placing jovial bets on their odds of making it into the desert city, a short intake of breath from Warriors drew some of their gazes. 

"Wild, that's a Royal Guard's Set." He pointed to where a deep red tunic over chainmail - paired with a gold-gilded navy tabard - lay beside an embossed flat cap and buckled white boots. The captain carefully picked up the cap, turning it over in his hands reverently and regarding Wild with an unreadable expression as he traced the royal crest embroidered there in gold floss. 

"Y-Yeah, suppose it is."

"I know you never mentioned being that close to the Royal family in your era, but this set is for a seriously high rank. It's styled slightly differently from the pieces we had back home, but I'd recognise this anywhere."

Wild didn't know what to say. He hadn't exactly _hidden_ the rank he’d held in his old life from them - it just hadn't occurred to him to mention it, given how distant that boy from a hundred years ago felt. And it wasn't _Warriors'_ fault for being curious; The captain was, after all, of a high rank himself, and was naturally inclined to want to connect with someone that had experience in a similar position. 

Still, Wild couldn't really shake the slightly light-headed sensation that had washed over him. He didn't look at his Royal Guard set that often, and had kind of snatched it up and carefully stuffed it in his slate as he'd made his way through the ruined corridors of Hyrule Castle in the hours before facing the Calamity. 

Now though, when he laid eyes on the tailed tabard and deep crimson silk, he felt his thoughts stall and stutter, as though snagging on something. Something invisible, but _important_.

"I was the princess' appointed night,” He explained weakly. “-But I must've preferred the more protective gear at the time," Wild gestured vaguely toward where his beaten and battered Soldier's Armour lay as he tried to ignore the oppressive silence that had fallen and the stunned look on Warriors' face. "T-That set was mostly for galas I think, and… and r-royal… cere-... ceremonies."

It was too late. He should have recognised the light-headed sensation for what it was. _Stupid_.

The clearing seemed to fall away, the varying expressions of concern and shock on his friend's faces easily slipping from his mind as the cold stone of a castle antechamber replaced them. 

The first thing he noticed was that his chest and throat felt restricted. Tight. _Itchy_. It was a long way from the relaxed tunic he always wore in the barracks. Link longed to be rid of the Royal Guard's uniform, but had accepted that he couldn't exactly argue the point, even if he'd actually wanted to. At least Zelda seemed to feel the same way about the dress she'd been bundled into. Link watched as she absently itched at the bracelets around her wrists behind her back, clearly dying to be rid of them. 

“I _do_ wish we didn’t have to attend.” She smoothed down the front of her dress, frustration visible in the line of her shoulders. “Father only wants me there to keep up appearances and settle the Barons.” 

The unspoken accusation rang through loud and clear; The King’s counsel doubted the rigor of her training efforts, and Link’s heart ached for her. For the exhaustion in her eyes, the pain of continuing to disappoint. They were demons far removed from his own, but demons nonetheless.

“Nevermind, I suppose it can’t be helped.” She sighed, slumping where she stood. The antechamber they were waiting in carried a draft through from the open balcony, and they shivered together. The princess shot him a weak smile, which he attempted to return.

A sudden knock on the oaken door at the front of the room made them both startle, their backs reflexively straightening. Link didn’t even register himself schooling his expression into something more impassive and neutral. It was just habit after all these years - a mildly comforting barrier between him and all the eyes that were about to be upon them.

“Your Highness? Counsel is beginning.”

And the door swung open.

She strode out into the counselroom, with its carefully carved vaulted ceiling, and Link was dutiful in keeping his precise two metres behind her as she took her place at the long oak table beside her father. Between sparse glances to his charge and the large doors, Link kept his gaze firmly trained ahead, angling the blade of the Royal Broadsword he held sentinel in front of him so that its shine would be visible _just so_ to anyone who planned on stepping out of line. 

A Rito dressed to the nines here, a jeweled Hylian Baron there; Privately, he realised every seat at the table sat someone worth more than his full lifetime earnings, retirement plan and all. Every one of these respected guests was either looking at the Princess, or at _him_ \- and with practiced ease, he let his eyes unfocus and waited for his heart-rate to lower, feeling the physical thrum in his chest. 

_Calm down,_ his mind supplied unhelpfully, with an edge of panic. _You're not paying attention! Focus._

He quickly glanced at Zelda, who had her hands folded precisely in her lap. _She’s fine. You’re fine. The King is literally right there. Get it together!_

The discussion had, apparently, already begun while he’d been zoned out, and Link tried not to let his inattention create a heavy weight of guilt in the pit of his stomach.

“We _cannot_ let the Lanayru lizalfos rally behind the beast.” A lord from Mabe village was saying. “It is true that they are in their element amongst the wetlands, but they are formidable - and a challenge to control - regardless of the environment. I cannot bear the thought of them approaching our settlement concurrently.”

“Forgive us, Rawlin.” An advisor to Chief Urbosa was shaking her head solemnly, but firmly. “The Gerudo _cannot_ spare any warriors. Two Molduga from the south recently approached the city wall. Dispensing them will remain our top priority for now.” Several people at the table grimaced. _No-one_ wanted to consider what the cost of dealing with the Molduga would be.

“Regardless,” Cut in the King, effectively silencing everyone at once. “Rawlin is right. A Hinox lumbering across the southern plain is no small concern. Do any of the other representatives have manpower to spare?”

Conversation continued in this manner, and Link had to silently agree with Zelda’s criticism from earlier. There _was_ no point to them being present for this meeting. Neither of them would be allowed anywhere near these issues, which - in the King’s eyes - paled in comparison to the importance of his daughter’s training.

“Your Majesty, forgive the change in subject, but I must inquire into the Princess’ progress. I trust her training is successful thus far, and will take her nowhere near these disturbances, correct?”

The King nodded, sending a pointed glance Zelda’s way. From behind her, Link noticed when she raised her chin at the address, just a fraction.

“Training progresses smoothly, Lord Reynaud. My prayer will take us to Mount Lanayru in a few months’ time, but we will approach the summit from the west, at East Gate, effectively avoiding the wetland Lizalfos.”

Dodging the prying question while answering another to hide the avoidance, like a true politician. Link felt distinctly proud of her, inwardly relishing at the disdainful curl of Reynaud’s lip.

“I pray your appointed knight is up for the challenge,” The Lord added, and Link felt his stomach _drop_. “These are dangerous times, your highness, and I hope he is keeping you from any unnecessary excursions. Has he been training long?”

Link felt sick. He could deal with the eyes upon his back, sizing him up and judging his worth in one glance from afar. He could stomach the pressure of a nation when it was _distant_ \- ever present, but silent. But this? He counted to seven in his head, held his breath for five seconds, and quietly let it out again. His grip on the hilt of his broadsword was white-knuckled.

"Eleven years, more or less," The King interrupted, terse and displeased. The implication of the rather pointed question hadn't gone unnoticed by His Majesty either, then; Link had been deemed inadequate for the job. 

"That must be quite the repertoire he has." Reynaud didn't even look at him, instead focusing his scrutiny on Zelda herself. "Still, those frivolous trips outside the castle are no longer safe, Your Highness. Some of the counsel members doubt that your safety has been… assured, as of late."

"I trust you aren't questioning _my personal_ decision to appoint him to my own daughter, Lord Reynaud?" The King's icy tone plunged the already-tense atmosphere around the table into deep, freezing waters.

Distantly, Link heard the nobleman gracelessly apologise, even though he couldn't really see anyone at the table anymore. Why were the edges of his vision patchy like that? Movement from where Zelda sat directly in front of him caught his eye, and he wrenched his gaze down to where her hands were shaping words in her lap below the table. Carefully _signing_ . To _him_.

_‘Do not heed him. Five-hundred rupees says Father will expel him from the counsel later. Asshole.’_

Some of the tension slipped from his frame, ever so slightly. Even though the collar of his silken tunic and embellished navy tabard were still tight around his throat, Link slowly let out a silent, steadying breath that he probably wouldn't have managed moments earlier otherwise. 

If he could make it through eleven years of Garrison training, and being appointed her personal knight, Link could make it through one shitty, stuffy counsel meeting with the Princess. 

o~O~o

"W-what's going on?"

"Is he okay? Twilight, what's wrong with him?"

Twilight didn't know what to do, and he was doing his utmost not to let it cloud his features. The others were all staring at the cub, the whole range of emotions between warily worried to horribly distressed shared between the eight of them. Poor Warriors looked sick to his stomach, face twisted in regret and remorse. 

_Wild_ though. Wild was listless, eyes unfocused and breathing deeply. He clearly couldn't hear any of them, couldn't feel the grip Twilight had around his torso in an attempt to keep him upright. This one was _bad_. 

Time rescued him from a choked explanation by quelling his panic with a steadying hand, and turning to the group. “Do you all remember when Wild told us about the Shrine that claimed his memories when it healed him in stasis?" Their leader’s tone was careful, measured, where Twilight _knew_ his own wouldn't have been. The others all nodded, Sky twisting his sailcloth anxiously between his hands, and when he realised what was going on, and Wind exchanged a sad look with Four. 

Twilight felt the need to pitch in. He _couldn't_ leave Time to explain all on his own. "Specific memories often come back to him quite suddenly." He offered up, and Time nodded. "He told me… He mentioned that there's no way of knowing what triggers them, or when, unfortunately." 

A harsh snapping noise made them all jump, and they turned toward Warriors just in time to see a broken branch being carefully pried out of his iron grip by Time, who leant over and placed a firm, grounding hand overtop the captain's. 

"There's no need for that. You couldn't have known. _None_ of us could have."

"He didn't deserve-" Warriors' bitter expression startled some of them, the genuine harshness of his tone out of place on him. Something significant clearly haunted him. "-Isn't he about _seventeen?"_

"Thereabouts..." Four supplied quietly. "Not counting the century he spent recovering, Wild mentioned to me that his Zelda was slightly older than him, and that the Calamity hit them on _her_ 17th birthday. I… I think he was originally sixteen." 

"Sweet _Hylia_ above- Even wearing that particular royal garb requires at least a _decade_ of garrison training." 

"You're _kidding_."

"No- really?"

"Six?" Whispered Legend, looking faintly ill. "He was _six?"_

Twilight would have missed the way Wild's breathing suddenly grew shallow if he hadn’t been keeping one eye out for him, and he shut out the continued mutterings of the other heroes to retrain his focus back onto the cub. 

Where his eyes remained glazed and distant still, the air leaving Wild's chest sounded constricted, frame tight with tension. Twilight ached for him, a feeling of uselessness clutching his heart tight as he watched his protégé struggle through something none of them could help with.

He wove a hand into the hair at the boy's crown and gently pulled his head down to rest on his shoulder. Those shallow breaths continued to tear their way through Wild's chest, and Twilight let his eyes close and his cheek rest against the top of his cub's head, blocking everything else out as they settled in to wait out the evening.

o~O~o

Slowly, his senses returned to him. Recovering from a spell of recollection always felt like surfacing from underwater, somehow.

The noise gradually dialled in - going from muffled and distorted, to quiet chatter and the crackle of a fire - the vaulted ceilings of the castle hall slipping away and fading into the deep hues of a twilight sky. He could feel something warm at his back, something fluffy at his neck, and a solid presence pressed up against his shoulder. Smells from the coniferous pine wood greeted him, alongside the distinct scent of Twilight's pelt, and something that told his nose people who _shouldn't_ be cooking dinner were indeed _attempting_ to. 

Slowly, he blinked his eyes clear, reaching up to wipe at them tiredly, and jumped when the _warm something_ he'd felt as his back shifted upon his awakening.

"Good to have you back, cub."

Twisting around from where he was slouched, Wild was met with the kind, sharp eyes of his mentor at his back, and the grounding, levelled gaze of the group's leader sat beside them. He managed a sleepily smile, feeling safe leant up against Twilight with Time bracketing his shoulder from where he sat, steadily polishing a gorgeous blue ocarina. 

Wild sat forward, shifting to face them properly. He was surprised when Twilight's wolf pelt slipped from his shoulders as he did so, it's owner merely chuckling and choosing to shrug it back over him. 

_'Hi,'_ he signed rather uselessly, embarrassed when they both rolled their eyes good-naturedly at his rather stupid greeting. He swallowed anxiously. _'Sign is easier. Old habit. Remembering things from before brings it out. Hope that's okay.'_

"'Course it's okay." Time patted his knee and pointed toward the fire where the others were sat squabbling over a cookpot. "You might still be dragged into salvaging dinner, though. Sorry cub."

Wild smiled, deeply appreciating the normalcy they were affording him, even though he knew they'd be checking up on him later. That was okay though; he didn't mind talking about it, not compared to how he used to be dreadfully fearful of a memory surfacing in front of the others at the start of their journey - but doing it later was a small mercy. He still felt rather rattled. 

_'Where's my stuff?'_ He signed curiously, glancing out at the cleared camp, where everyone's bedrolls now lay. 

"Took some figuring out, but we put it all away for you." Twilight chuckled, handing Wild his slate. "Goddesses above, I had to stop Wind thwacking Legend with it at one point, and you may have a few more pictures on there than you did a couple hours ago. You sure that thing isn't magic?"

Wild grinned, signing a cheeky _'You're just not savvy enough'_ , before flicking through the inventory menus, marvelling at how organised it now was. He noticed something was missing right away, though, and glanced up to meet Time's knowing gaze, already trained on him. 

"We left it out for you, cub. Thought you'd appreciate the chance to make peace with it."

And he produced the Royal Guard's Set from beside him on a blanket, neatly and carefully folded. 

Wild took the offered bundle gingerly, settling it on his lap. It really was magnificent; he could appreciate it for what it was despite the less-than pleasant memories associated with his time spent wearing it. He remembered being stood with Zelda, the two of them keeping eachother company - just children in a room full of adults. Recalled sheepishly the way she hadn't hesitated to call the noble something vulgar under the table, just for him to see, just to make him smile. 

It made him feel close to her. And he smiled. 

_'Thank you'_. Wild signed with shaky hands, before delicately picking up the slate and storing the uniform safely away. 

Five minutes later, after some time spent basking in the noise of six idiots all dismally attempting to cook, Wild took pity on them and left the company of Twilight and Time, with a clap on the back, to go and rescue dinner. 

He sank down between Warriors and Sky to a chorus of relieved and jubilant cheers. They set about starting over, washing the utensils clean as instructed, and if all the ingredients Wild picked out happened to be for a spicy seafood fry - something everyone knew was his favourite - none of them commented. 

During a rare moment of relative peace amongst the group of nine heroes, Wild chose his moment. While scrubbing chopping boards and knives beside Warriors, he set down his loofah sponge and began to carefully sign where he knew the captain would see. 

_'I noticed the uniform had been folded the proper way, when Time gave it to me.'_ He pointed out, and Warriors' scrubbing slowed to a stop too, expression carefully neutral. _'-The way the captain at my garrison taught us.'_

After a brief moment where Wild let his hands drop and patiently sat beside his friend, Warriors spoke, voice strained. "I'm sorry. I didn't realise-"

Wild's hands were warm overtop his own, effectively silencing him. They pulled back briefly. _'Thank you. It means a lot to me that you put effort into looking after it properly.'_

"Always," Warriors bumped their shoulders together, voice a little choked. "-Always, kid. It feels… nice, to have a fellow knight here who understands that importance." 

Wild smiled, nodding appreciatively. _'You're free to ask me about my position. I didn't hide it. Just didn't occur to me.'_

"I think I'll take you up on that sometime."

Warriors resumed his scrubbing - accompanied by Wild a moment later, the two side by side as the smells from the cookpot slowly became more and more fragrant. 

"Thanks for the sword when I was in a pinch earlier, by the way." The captain said after a while, seemingly just recalling it. He chuckled to himself, an understanding grin stretching across his features. "Guess the fact that you handed me a Royal Broadsword makes more sense now."

 _'Nah, you can find those everywhere back home'_ Wild rolled his eyes. _'Snagged that one off a Hinox.'_

"You- Really? How does a _Hinox_ have access to a Royal Broadsword?!" 

o~O~o

Afterword:

"Goddess, Wild. Why on _earth_ didn't I question it when you asked me to put a whole jar of that spice into the fry?!" Hyrule cried. 

"Because _you're_ an idiot and _he's_ Ganon reincarnate." Legend snarled, red in the face. 

"My eyes won't stop streaming," Sky whimpered, wiping his nose and scrubbing at the tear tracks marking his cheeks. Four looked no better off, Warriors had succumbed to a coughing fit, and Twilight was doing his best not to react at all, despite the sweat breaking out across his brow. 

"I dunno what they're on about Wild, this tastes damn _amazing_." Wind praised between bites, and Wild just grinned, taking another mouthful and savouring the moment. 

"He's right, I need to make a note of the recipe. I'm sure Malon would love it if I could get a hold of some of your spice the next time we're near your Death Mountain". 

"Time you _absolute_ bastard."

**Author's Note:**

> ty for reading! ♡
> 
> (i will never be able to stop the government seeing the ludicrous amount of research I did into tabards vs surcoats vs tunics, at approx. 3:17am yesterday. RIP).


End file.
